The Marvel Cinematic Universe, now halfway through its fourth phase, continues to broaden the horizons for reimagining comic book characters and introducing crossovers. Recently, Spider-Man: No Way Home saw Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprise their roles as Peter Parker/Spider-Man from Spider Man (2002) and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), respectively. In May 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness promises an even larger cast that merges various timelines and builds on the foundation of No Way Home.
Marvel Studios has spawned a transcendent multiverse almost 15 years after Iron Man started it all in 2008 and Robert Downey Jr. first embodied Tony Stark. Since then, impeccable casting and sensational acting has brought many other superheroes and supervillains to life, transferring them from page to screen and integrating them into an all-encompassing, overarching narrative. As much progress as Marvel has made, there are many more years ahead, many more opportunities to seize, and many more characters to introduce. Here are 10 Marvel characters we’d love to see join the MCU at any time, please.
10. Nova
Richard Rider, aka Nova, was randomly chosen to join the Nova Corps, inheriting the combined powers of all the Nova Corps members that were annihilated during an invasion. After the events that led to the eradication of the Nova Corps, Rider began searching the galaxy for those in need of help.
There might be some hope for Nova to join the MCU in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, especially after the Nova Corps was mentioned in Guardians of the Galaxy. Aside from that, Nova could appear in the upcoming film The Marvels or be featured in a standalone project sometime in the near future.
9. Storm
Powerful mutant Ororo Munroe, otherwise known as Storm, joined Charles Xavier’s X-Men hoping to comprehend the origin and intention of her weather-based powers. Storm rose to prominence within the X-Men and even became the leader of the group for years, but somewhere along the line, she discovered that a darkness lay dormant inside her.
As far as live-action portrayals, Halle Berry portrayed Storm in Bryan Singer’s X-Men (2000) alongside Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier. However, the character never truly developed beyond that single outing and has yet to appear since. It was announced by Kevin Feige that an untitled X-Men movie was in early development to be included in Marvel’s Phase Five, which might hopefully give Storm the makeover and rebrand she deserves.
8. Ms. Marvel
Kamala Khan, when exposed to the Terrigen Mist in the aftermath of the Terrigen Bomb ⏤ which was built during the war between the Kree Empire (led by the Inhumans) and the Shi’ar Empire ⏤ Khan underwent a life-changing transformation known as Terrigenesis, wherein breathing the artificial mist activated her inhuman genes and awoke her polymorph ability. Khan, known by her alias Ms. Marvel, can stretch her body in almost any way imaginable, including enlarging body parts (such as fists) or enlarging herself.
Filming for a Ms. Marvel TV series began in 2020 and ended in May 2021. The series, created by Bisha K. Ali, is scheduled to premiere in mid 2022, meaning Ms. Marvel’s MCU debut is imminent. Additionally, Ms. Marvel will serve as a setup for the 2023 feature film The Marvels, thereby confirming that Khan will join the MCU and supposedly appear as a live-action regular from then on.
7. Ironheart
Riri Williams, adopting the superhero persona Ironheart, is the protégé of Tony Stark/Iron Man, albeit unknowingly. In the comics, Stark fell into a coma fighting Captain Marvel, so Riri decided to continue his legacy as a hero. As far as the events in the MCU, the scenarios differ, but the setup is almost identical. In Avengers: Endgame, Tony Stark sacrificed himself by absorbing the energy from the Infinity Stones and reviving the victims of Thanos’ wipeout.
With Tony Stark out of the picture, highly unlikely to return, it makes sense that Riri would take over as Iron Man — or Ironheart — and continue fighting using Stark’s pre-established techniques. Interestingly, Williams eventually joined the ranks of the Champions, a group of teenaged superheroes which Nova and Kamala Khan were also members of. Perhaps Marvel fans can set their sights on an MCU endeavor featuring the Champions and kill three birds with one stone, so to speak.
6. The Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four made their on-screen debut in 1994 with Oley Sassone’s outdated film. Since then, there have been three more Fantastic Four movies—in 2005, 2007, and 2015—but those are all independent films and are not considered to have taken place within the MCU. The Fantastic Four are comprised of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm, all of whom gained superpowers after exposure to cosmic rays.
In 2019, Marvel Studios regained the rights to the Fantastic Four after Walt Disney acquired 21st Century Fox. Shortly after, Fantastic Four was confirmed as an upcoming installment in Marvel’s Phase Four and will mark the MCU debut of the superhero team. The film has yet to announce its cast, but Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home) will direct.
5. Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen
Spider-Gwen, a variant of Spider-Man from an alternate universe, is created when Gwen Stacy is bitten by a radioactive spider and becomes Spider-Gwen instead of Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man. She appeared in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) and has been confirmed to appear in a female-centered spin-off of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
As for a live-action, Emma Stone portrayed Gwen Stacy in Sam Raimi’s The Amazing Spider-Man alongside Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker, but prior to the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, that film was not considered to be a part of the MCU, and Stacy existed in the Earth-616 timeline, where Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man. However, with Steinfeld’s animated portrayal gaining traction in the Marvel universe, it’s only a matter of time before a live-action Spider-Gwen counterpart emerges.
4. Black Cat
Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat, decided to follow in the footsteps of her father, a renowned cat burglar. In the comics, Hardy was the victim of a near-rape in her freshman year of college, but she was saved by another student. Refusing to label herself as a victim, she began training in various martial arts styles and acrobatics. Later, she began using her newfound skills as a notorious thief and adopted the Black Cat persona. During that time, she met Spider-Man, a man she had respect for and grew to love.
Black Cat has yet to appear in the MCU, either in films or TV shows, but especially after Spider-Man: No Way Home further expanded the Spider-Man multiverse, it would be foolish not to introduce other Spider-Verse characters, like Black Cat, Deadpool, and Silk. Generally, Black Cat has been considered an antagonist, so she could join the MCU as an accomplice or a threat, depending on how Tom Holland’s Spider-Man story unfolds.
3. Spider-Woman
When Jessica Drew was young, she became severely ill, poisoned by uranium. An expert on the regenerative properties of arachnid blood injected Drew with a sreum that replicated the DNA of a rare arachnid species. He hoped that it would stop the poisoning and prevent further tissue damage. Drew was kept in stasis for decades, as they hoped it would accelerate the process. Instead, it granted her spider-themed powers similar to Peter Parker’s and she started out as a bounty hunter before becoming Spider-Woman.
Like Black Cat, as the Spider-verse continues steadily developing, the possibilities seem endless to bring about newer heroes and villains. Spider-Woman may appear in animated form in the Spider-Verse sequels before transferring over the live-action in the MCU, but regardless, Marvel fans can expect Drew to show up sooner rather than later.
2. Deadpool
Speaking of Deadpool, the resident “Merc with a Mouth” who has already debuted in live-action form with Ryan Reynolds as his celebrity counterpart, he can be expected ⏤ perhaps above all other candidates ⏤ to appear in the MCU any day now. Especially as the X-Men remake approaches and Deadpool 3 has been announced, Marvel fans are eagerly anticipating a Deadpool/Spider-Man team-up. The early Deadpool 3 poster pays homage to (and makes fun of) the Jon Watts Spider-Man trilogy, leading to presumptions that Wade Wilson and Peter Parker might finally meet.
In the first Deadpool, Wade Wilson became terminally ill with cancer but hoped to prevent the illness from causing rapid deterioration by enrolling in a superhuman enhancement project that gave him regenerative powers and healed his cancerous cells long enough to keep the cancer at bay. He appeared again in Deadpool 2 (2018), but neither that nor Deadpool’s first outing were considered to share continuity with the remainder of the Marvel franchise. From the looks of it, Wade Wilson may be returning sooner than we think and integrating himself loudly and proudly as an MCU antihero.
1. Miles Morales
In 2018, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse not only gave us Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen, but also Miles Morales/Kid Arachnid. In an alternate universe, Miles Morales was bitten by a radioactive spider and became the Earth-1610 version of Spider-Man, replacing Peter Parker.
Miles has made his animated debut but has yet to surface in the MCU. As previously mentioned regarding the other Spider-Verse characters, the most probable explanation is that all the remaining Spider-Man characters will be involved in an all-inclusive crossover, presumably matching the number of heroes needed to defeat the number of villains. Some speculation has arisen regarding the perfect Miles Morales actor, but regardless, the interaction between him and Tom Holland’s Peter Parker would be priceless, and Miles is a seriously underrated Spider-Man.